The Australian Open is the first of the four Grand Slam tennis tournaments held each year. The tournament is held each January at Melbourne Park. The tournament was held for the first time in 1905 and was contested on grass from then up to 1987. Since 1988, the tournament has been held on hard courts at Melbourne Park. Mats Wilander is the only male player to have won the tournament on both grass and hard courts.
Like all other Grand Slam tournaments, there are men’s and women’s singles competitions; men’s, women’s, and mixed doubles; and junior’s and master’s competitions.
The two main courts used in the tournament are Rod Laver Arena and Hisense Arena and feature retractable roofs, which can be shut in case of rain or extreme heat. The Australian Open and Wimbledon are the only Slams with indoor play.
The singles winners in 2009 were Rafael Nadal and Serena Williams. In men’s doubles, the winners were Bob and Mike Bryan, and in women’s doubles, the winners were Serena and Venus Williams – the very first time in history that both doubles titles had been won by siblings. In mixed doubles, the winners were Sania Mirza and Mahesh Bhupathi.
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